how much to feed cats on a wet food diet?

IIRC Soulistic is Petco's new brand? I don't know how much your cat weighs but I'd say probably 2 6oz cans daily.... That is just a huge guess using the adult 8lb. cat needing about 240 calories a day. I have not familiarized myself with Soulistic yet. Wish I could be more help. There is an 800 number for them at (800)776-5262 which you can call for more info.

Our kitties aren't as active as most, and we find they need significantly less than the recommended amounts on the cans. The literature out there indicates cats should be getting anywhere from 20 calories per pound (in an old inactive cat) to up to 50 calories per pound (target weight). We found our gang - ranging from 4 to 9 years old - require 20 - 25 calories per pound. That's at the very low end for their ages.

I've found anywhere from 3/4th - 1 1/2 can is the typical amount depending on activity level of the cat. I say start at 1 can each and then go from there.

IMO a skilled vet can make a calorie recommendation, mine told me 150 calories.

All cans should have calorie listings (Wellness pouches, I had to email for, they are like 90-110)

Most cans range between 150-200.
My cat seems to do best at 200. Her favorite can is Nature's Variety Chicken which is 200, the same company's lamb formula is 240 (highest caloric food I have seen)
If you are going to do a wet only diet, which I do, I would do 1/3 of a can for breakfast, and 2/3'ds throughout the afternoon/night.

I also rotate my cat through about 8 different varieties switching every day, but that is her preference, not all cats like that.

I don't think we need to consult NASA to be PERFECT on the money with calories. IMO, just start with the feeding suggestion on the can, and if kitty seems a bit thin or overly hungry, kick it up a notch. If kitty is getting too squishy/round, then reduce a little.

After all, most people don't really know exactly how many calories they should be or are consuming for that matter, but if they were a healthy weight and gain five pounds.... yeah, time to reel it in!

Everyone knows that the amount on the can is almost Always too much though, and especially since people don't seem too good at judging the fatness of a kitty/they think it's cute, it's usually best to start at one can per day.

Feed them what they will eat. If they start to get too fat, feed them less.

Congratulations on switching to canned food. My Tolly and Queen Eva eat Soulistic Chicken and gravy. They LOVE it. I keep them on a variety of brands, but Soulistic by far is their favorite. I wish they had more flavors that are not seafood, as I do not feed my cats any fish or seafood.

Tolly is abut 9 1/2 pounds and he eats 6 ounces of canned food a day, he has a high activity level and is 12 years old. Queen Eva is 7 pounds and eats between 6oz - 9oz depending on the day, but she is still a growing kitten and extremely active.

Jennie is 10 pounds, and eats a different brand from the other two, but she gets only 4.5 ounces a day as she is sedentary and tends to gain weight.

Mazy is on prescription food.

Uh oh, looks I appear to be a food monster :0

When my vet said your cat is pushing it's weight limit, and should consider 150 cal max, I looked at her funny.

My cat is a bengal that looks and acts like a siamese.
That means she scarfs food down, and screams for it when she is hungry.

She shares a house with another cat who is dry only, over the years of transitioning her to wet only, I have had problems where she would sneak dry food. Over time me and my family members have worked on lifting the bowl of dry out of reach, and thus helping to control the dry cats diet who is a bit husky.

Anyways what I find works best for me is I give her 1/3 the can before I leave for work, most cats have a shorter day time appetite. Then when I get home I give her the next 1/3 and then the rest of the can before I fall asleep.

Sometimes if I get home late and I know she is hungry I give her the who half can.

Also the only other reason to consider calories is that some wets are very low and some are very high.

For example Weruva is less than 100 calories a can, Merick is 150 a can, and Natures Variety Chicken(my cats fav) is 222 a can, and 259 for their Lamb variety.

Also a tip, if your cat takes to Natures Variety (which is maybe the most expensive wet) you can get the 13 oz dog sizes (company and vendors claim it is same product) for savings.

I have heard this about Nature's Variety before.

Since cats and dogs have extremely different nutritional needs I would not trust a company that makes this claim.

It is not possible to make one food that is nutritionally correct and complete for both species. Their needs are just too different.

Excellent point, the first time I was told this was by my vendor, Pet Depot, these folks sell nothing but premiums, and at very low prices. They were told repeatedly by their suppliers and NV's marketing rep.

Once I was there and NV chicken for cats was sold out. The workers told me the company's rep had told them this, they had confirmed it and I would be fine buying the dog variety. I told them I believed them but just wasn't comfortable.

Then one day I accidentally grabbed some dog cans and much to my surprise they were the same in look texture and smell.

I also read the ingredients list of both cans and were identical (including Taurine, something dogs don't need AFAIK) and the calories are identical.

My opinion is they use the same formula for dogs and cats based on the above, but also on common sense that an expensive premium "95%" wet would be more efficient to produce for both species.
Cats require richer food, so if on paper the dog formula is as rich and nutritious, and looks and smells the same, I can believe a vendor who will not confirm that say Merick's 13 oz dog cans are ok for cats, or even NV Homestyle 13 oz cans.

Also, I recently called NV for a question on raw bones for my brothers dog. I popped this question on them and they confirmed it was the same.

So take it for what it's worth, personally I think they should own up to it and disclose it on their site in the FAQ.

Good point I had forgotten on NV dog food. I was told the same thing at pet store by their rep. I purchased the dog and my cat indeed ate it. At the time I just had one cat so I could not feed
the large can to her without her getting tired of it. I have 2 cats now. So I might look at it again, of course if cat #2 wont eat it that is a different story

Cats should not be fed dog food. Cats have very different nutritional requirements than dogs. It is not possible to meet the needs of both cats and dogs in one food. I urge you to feed your cats a food made specifically for cats.

Also of note, the NV chicken the last year or so has been packed in a liquid that is more aspic than it is water, allowing the food to hold its shape.
It used to be with these tall cans I had to pour alot of the gravy out because after a day or two, the bottom would turn to mush.

Good Luck, I buy all my stuff at "case price" and my shop lets me do mixed cases of same priced brand (so I could toss in chicken, lamb and beef)

Agree.
I don't care what any pet food store employee says, cat and dog food are Not the same, and if it is true that NV is advertising their cat and dog foods to be the same, I will make sure to stay away from their brand.

Petsmart just started selling Innova and it comes in 13.2 oz cans, and I believe there are a few brands at Petco that also come in large cans, so there are options out there. (Online there are many brands that come in large size can.)

That is an extremely sweeping, broad generalization don't you think? You're assuming "everyone" has the same mind set you have which is simply not the case. The amount on the can, or bag of food, is there for a reason. It's really much simpler than you can imagine. Rather than adding little bits at a time would it not be easier to feed the recommended amount and if the cat does not eat it all reduce the amount the next time you feed the cat? It's always been the best course of action in my household but that is just my experience.

Problem is, a lot of cats are still hungry after you put down the recommended amount and/or the amount on the bag is too much and so the cat slowly gains weight over time.

The amount of food a cat needs varies greatly from cat to cat, and therefor, the chance that the amount on the bag is correct for your cat is very slim. The best way to start is to see how many calories there are per cup, then go by what is recommended for your cat 'type' (gender, age, activity level, etc) and then increase or decrease from there.
If you make any search for how much to feed your cat, it will never say 'whatever is on the bag'.

I agree with this to a point, but there is one important factor. Not all calories are created equal. Cats need high quality meat protein to thrive. 200 calories of junk cat food might make a cat fat, whereas 200 calories from a good canned food with no fillers will keep the same kitty fit and trim.

As you pointed out, every cat has different nutritional needs. Not every calorie for every brand of food is the same either. If you've read the bag or cans of Nutro it will say "feeding guidelines". Guidelines being the key word. Guidelines meaning this is recommended but use it only as a guide. I don't know what other companies put on their bags and cans for recommended feeding of their food. I'd be suspicious of any brand that implies the company's recommendations for feed have to be adhered to. It's been years since I've even had to look at the feeding guidelines on a bag or a can of food. Ingredients tell me more than the feeding guidelines of the food company. If you Google "feeding guidelines cat" you'll get a more accurate search.

Speaking of Calorie claims, what freaked me out the most about Weruva was how incredibly low their calories were.
http://www.weruva.com/cat-cuisine-pa...in-chicken.php (click Nutrition info)

their "paw lickin chickin" is a paltry 84 calories.

Concerned my cat would starve, or I was getting ripped off (remember NV chicken in the same size is 220 calories) I emailed the company to ask.

Their CEO wrote me back and below is the email exchange.
Props to him or his secretary, I doubt this was a prepared response.
(note: I chose not to feed Weruva, their prices shot way up, the calories are too low, and I am not familiar with Thai raised poultry)
(yes my name is George, Korina is my cats name ;_) )
-------
8/21/08
\t
Hello George,

Thank you for the email to Weruva. We are pleased to hear that our foods
have helped with the transition from dry . . . and kudos to you for
switching to an all moist diet! At the same time, we understand the added
expense that comes with a canned only diet.

With that said, the calorie content that you may have seen on our products
reflects a calculation based upon the guaranteed analysis. Calories come
from protein, fat and carbohydrates. There are 4 calories in a gram of
protein, 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrate and 9 calories in a gram of
fat. Therefore, if we guarantee 10% protein (min) in a 156g can, we are
guaranteeing 15.6 g of protein. Mulitply that by 4 calories/gram and we
get 62.4 calories from protein. Do that with the fat and approximate
carbohydrate (1-3% depending on the formula), add them up, and you can
calculate a minimum caloric content.

Therefore, you are essentially seeing approx the minimum in a can. In
actuality, it may be a bit higher. Pet food regulations, as opposed to
human food regulations, require the listing of protein and fat as minimum
percentages. This is done largely in part of the inability of
manufacturers to put together a consistent product from batch to batch
based upon the availability of ingredients.

Another important attribute of our food is the high level quality of our
protein. For instance, we use breast meat chicken and fish flaked off the
bone, all cuts with approval for human consumption. The higher quality the
protein, the less a cat will have to eat. Consider a formula that has 100
calories of chicken breast versus a formula with 100 calories of plant
based proteins, such as corn gluten. A cat on the chicken breast would not
need to eat as many calories as the cat on the inferior protein source.

I hope this has been helpful. Please let us know if you have further
questions.

Best Regards,

David Forman
President and co-Founder
Weruva Because Weluvya!
646-201-9404
fax: 646-688-6865
- Hide quoted text -


> I introduced my cats to Weruva a few weeks ago and they love it.
>
> Your fish lines helped one my cats make the transition from all dry to all
> wet very easy.
>
>
> I was suprised to learn today from a post on a feline forum website that
> your 5.5 oz cans have as much as 50% less calories than your competitors
> (Merrick, Nature's Variety etc).
>
> Quite recently my new vet recommended both cats to not exceed 170 calories
> a day (about the ammount in Merricks cans).
>
> So when I saw your 5.5 oz can of Paw Lickin Chicken is 84 calories I was
> very surprised. That would mean if my cats required 170 calories I would
> have to feed them 2 cans each, which I am sad to say I could never afford.
>
> I will contact my doctor and ask her what the required calories for my
> cats
> are (versus maximum).
>
> I am sure other customers have brought up this issue, I would like to know
> the companies' take on it.
>
> Thanks for your time on this question.

A guideline I use is 1/2 to one oz of food per lb per day for a ave activity and weight kitty... So if you have a proper wt 10 lb eating ONLY canned food would generally eat 5-10 oz a day... which by most cans would = 150 -300 calories ...

The guidelines on cans are normally a bit on the gernerous side... My vet who has a Master in Companion animal nutrition( yes a vet with a nutrition degree ) said always start at the LOW end of recommendation on can or bag.. This has been echoed by the old country vet to my young vet ...the one with the degree is middle aged

For me each cat is different around my house 22-27 calories per lb seems to keep wt and health in check when they get dry or canned... raw and homemade use a totally different scale due to digestion and ingrediants